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Villain

Play trailer Poster for Villain R 1971 1h 38m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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67% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A razor-wielding London thug (Richard Burton) robs a payroll with his gang; his pimp boyfriend (Ian McShane) has the alibi.

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Villain

Critics Reviews

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David Robinson Financial Times 09/02/2020
Burton's performance [is] cold-eyed and ugly, rejecting sympathy or glamour, admirably conveying the double image of the Capone-style gangster he aspires to be and the common, average-stupid, taciturn braggart he truly is. Go to Full Review
Margaret Hinxman Daily Telegraph (UK) 06/02/2020
[Villain works] as [an illustration] of the shaming condition of a native industry which, perpetually ailing, has never seemed, quite so close to extinction -- at least as a serious creative force. Go to Full Review
Time Out Staff Time Out 03/26/2020
A ludicrous exposé of the lower depths of London crime, it tarts up the hoariest old gangster clichés with a bit of homosexuality and a lot of thuggery, and manages to be both brutish and maudlin. Go to Full Review
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com 02/18/2021
4/5
…as a film, Villain wasn’t loved at the time, but now seems a bridge between traditional British policiers and a more modern take on criminality …the result has a vitality of it’s own, largely due to a script that is slippery enough to avoid clichés… Go to Full Review
Adrian Turner Radio Times 03/26/2020
3/5
Wavering uneasily between horror, black comedy and sentimentality, it's held together by Burton's performance, a brave attempt to escape the straitjacket of being the world's highest-paid movie star. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Thomas S Apr 20 Brilliant British crime caper from the golden age of blaggings. Great cast , Burton is incredible as the intense, psychopathic , East End Villian , Vic Dakin, played without any empathy and Ian McShane is the thread through the film. Loved the fashion of early seventies London See more delysid d 05/17/2020 its a british gangster film thats up there with get carter and the long good friday See more 04/16/2020 Hilariously bad 'hard man' movie, stuffed with RADA actors trying on mockney accents. Richard Burton - puffy and red-eyed - is London mobster Vic Dakin. You can tell he's a nasty piece of work because he SHOUTS and wears black and he needs a haircut. He also has a lover - Ian McShane - but we don't want to go there, cos this is 1971. McShane and T.P. McKenna give good performances, in part because they know it's a film, not a tribute to Henry Irving. An unconscious influence on Viz's Big Vern. See more s r @ScottR 03/14/2017 Could've been better, but it was entertaining. See more 11/23/2016 Strong British gangster film, with the focus on a messy heist. Richard Burton dominates with his very domineering character, although there's a plethora of UK acting talent on show all doing their best to compliment the lead. See more 09/26/2016 tough British gangster film. not a classic but certainly enough about it to keep viewer interested See more Read all reviews
Villain

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Movie Info

Synopsis A razor-wielding London thug (Richard Burton) robs a payroll with his gang; his pimp boyfriend (Ian McShane) has the alibi.
Director
Michael Tuchner
Producer
Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter
Production Co
Anglo-EMI
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 26, 1971, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 25, 2017
Runtime
1h 38m
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